Ms. McCain steps in it again

Meghan McCain might be the daughter of last year’s Republican presidential candidate, but that doesn’t mean she has a clue what she’s talking about.

“…the Republican Party will continue to lose elections unless we start reaching out in a more effective way to people my age and to moderates.”

Yeah, ’cause that worked real well for her father last year.

John McCain is the “Maverick,” isn’t he? He’s the ultimate “moderate” republican, the ideal candidate in her eyes for the GOP (Daddy issues, perhaps?). Yet this strategy was not successful for the Republicans last year.

As you should know if you read here regularly, I’m more libertarian-leaning than most of the GOP, but my positions don’t come from wishy-washy liberal guilt, as Ms. McCain’s clearly do. Mine come from my default to individual liberty. Further, my libertarian positions are fully in compliance with my belief in smaller government and less intervention in our daily lives. Ms. McCain’s, again, clearly do not come from the same belief.

I believe the reason Meghan McCain is so unpopular among strong conservatives isn’t her “expansive” or “less hate filled” viewpoint (as she claims). Rather, it is her pick-and-choose, cafeteria-style conservatism. “I like this, but I don’t want that,” and for no real reason other than she likes what she thinks is popular.

I know libertarians can be respected by conservatives, because libertarians like Neal Boortz and Bob Barr are respected by conservatives. On many issues, libertarians and conservatives are fully in agreement. The differences between libertarians and conservatives are largely on social interaction issues (homosexuality and gay marriage, for example) and foreign policy (expansionist vs. isolationist). While conservatives and libertarians might disagree on many issues, they agree on far more often than not.

The problem for Ms. McCain is, she’s not a libertarian. At least, she doesn’t appear to be. She appears as a moderate with both liberal and conservative positions. While claiming to be a “true conservative” and demanding that she be allowed to speak for the Republicans, she simultaneously demands the conservative wing shut up.